Full movie description "The Spectacular Jihad of Taz Rahim":

The Spectacular Jihad of Taz Rahim, starring Monica Dogra (Aamir Khan's Dhobi Ghat) and Rahsaan Islam (Bengali film Simanaheen), is a hip-hop themed English and Hindi language Bollywood Crime Dramedy based on true acts in the secret NYPD and FBI operation in the War on Terror. A Yo Yo Singh wannabe desi rapper is arrested and blackmailed by the NYPD into becoming an undercover police informant.

Reviews of the The Spectacular Jihad of Taz Rahim

"This movie needs to be seen by everyone."

I heard someone saying that as I was leaving one of the New York shows of The Spectacular Jihad of Taz Rahim. It's a statement that really resonated with me and one that I whole-heartedly agree with.

To be straight to the point, the positives of the film were:

1. The Performances: The film was perfectly cast. Every member of the lead cast played there part to a 'T'. No one missed a note. The strength of the movie has to be Taz Rahim himself - it's a character that could have been taken many different directions, good or bad, but the energy, vulnerability, and charm that Islam brought to the character was tantamount. I can't envision anyone else who could play 'Taz'. Islam's growth as an actor from his 1st film to his 2nd film is obvious, here he is like a new age Johnny Depp.

2. The Music: Enjoy the music in theater. You can thank me later.

3. The Story/Direction: No doubt this is an important story with a sensitive subject. To tell it the way director Raghav Murali decided to tell it was very unique. I really appreciated the dark humor he brought to the table. I can only imagine how I would react if someone was trying to recruit me as a terrorist. He did it without being too preachy and the film was an out and out entertainer. The screenplay hit all the right marks.

Yes, there were some technical flaws and I wish the team had a bigger budget to increase the scale of the film but it is still a great film. More importantly, it breaks the monotony that Bollywood is giving us and the 2nd generation NRI identity crisis film that we seem to get every year. It's a film, with great performances, that shows the human side of our world.

Moreover, it's a smart film that doesn't take itself too seriously nor does it insult the audience. I can't wait to watch it again to put all the pieces together. It's definitely a film that stays with you after you're done watching it.